Since I got to Jerusalem, I have been trying to find an apartment. Right before I left Monterey, I contacted this guy on craigslist about his one bedroom apartment, but I think it was a scam. That fell through, so I kept on looking.
Many posts on craigslist and other websites looking for roommates include in the description of their desired roommate "ss/sk". I wasn't really sure what that stood for, so I looked it up. Turns out ss is shomer shabbat and sk is shomer kashrut.
SS means that the person follows the rules associated with the Sabbath. I learnt about the Sabbath from conversations with Aryeh. The Sabbath is the day of rest in Judaism. It is the period that goes from one hour before the sun sets on Friday until there are three stars in the sky on Saturday. Depending on the time of the year, it starts and ends earlier or later. Following the rules of the Sabbath includes not being able to work (it is the day of rest) or use electrical devices. There are special meals and prayers for this day as well.
Although Aryeh is not religious, his family is, so they prepare Sabbath dinner. I was invited to join him and his family for this special occasion. His father took the time to explain the rituals to me and they gave me a book so I could understand the prayers and songs they sang. Dinner had many different courses and lasted longer than it does usually (especially when compared to the US). It kind of reminded me of traditional family lunches in Spain on Sundays. I felt really special being a part of it, and was very grateful to have been welcomed to their house.
Going back to the descriptions on housing ads, let me elaborate a bit more on SK. Keeping kosher means following certain dietary guidelines. I knew the basics of eating only certain kinds of meat from animals that had been killed without suffering, but that was about it. From Aryeh and Alona (at different times) I learnt more about the subject. Turns out, the only animals that are kosher are those that can chew and have cloven hooves. That mainly excludes pork and camel. In terms of fish, only fish that have scales and fins are allowed. Not only are there restrictions in terms of the meat, but also how the animal is killed. There are certain ways that reduce animal suffering, so in order to be kosher-certified, the butcher has to study these methods.
In addition to the meat restrictions, eating kosher means that milk products and meat products cannot be consumed at the same time (so, no cheeseburgers). Because these two types of products should not be consumed together, they should not be cooked together- this means different utensils should be used when cooking one type of product or the other.
When I went out to dinner with Richard and Alona, we needed to make sure we went to a Kosher place as Alona keeps kosher. So there are two types of kosher places, meat places and dairy places. From what I hear, Jerusalem is a pretty easy place to keep kosher as there are many options in terms of eating out, whereas Tel Aviv isn't as much.
In terms of finding an apartment, I actually wouldn't mind keeping kosher for six months. I think it would be a good way to experience a different culture, but I'm not sure if potential roommates would be down with it.
Many posts on craigslist and other websites looking for roommates include in the description of their desired roommate "ss/sk". I wasn't really sure what that stood for, so I looked it up. Turns out ss is shomer shabbat and sk is shomer kashrut.
SS means that the person follows the rules associated with the Sabbath. I learnt about the Sabbath from conversations with Aryeh. The Sabbath is the day of rest in Judaism. It is the period that goes from one hour before the sun sets on Friday until there are three stars in the sky on Saturday. Depending on the time of the year, it starts and ends earlier or later. Following the rules of the Sabbath includes not being able to work (it is the day of rest) or use electrical devices. There are special meals and prayers for this day as well.
Although Aryeh is not religious, his family is, so they prepare Sabbath dinner. I was invited to join him and his family for this special occasion. His father took the time to explain the rituals to me and they gave me a book so I could understand the prayers and songs they sang. Dinner had many different courses and lasted longer than it does usually (especially when compared to the US). It kind of reminded me of traditional family lunches in Spain on Sundays. I felt really special being a part of it, and was very grateful to have been welcomed to their house.
Going back to the descriptions on housing ads, let me elaborate a bit more on SK. Keeping kosher means following certain dietary guidelines. I knew the basics of eating only certain kinds of meat from animals that had been killed without suffering, but that was about it. From Aryeh and Alona (at different times) I learnt more about the subject. Turns out, the only animals that are kosher are those that can chew and have cloven hooves. That mainly excludes pork and camel. In terms of fish, only fish that have scales and fins are allowed. Not only are there restrictions in terms of the meat, but also how the animal is killed. There are certain ways that reduce animal suffering, so in order to be kosher-certified, the butcher has to study these methods.
In addition to the meat restrictions, eating kosher means that milk products and meat products cannot be consumed at the same time (so, no cheeseburgers). Because these two types of products should not be consumed together, they should not be cooked together- this means different utensils should be used when cooking one type of product or the other.
When I went out to dinner with Richard and Alona, we needed to make sure we went to a Kosher place as Alona keeps kosher. So there are two types of kosher places, meat places and dairy places. From what I hear, Jerusalem is a pretty easy place to keep kosher as there are many options in terms of eating out, whereas Tel Aviv isn't as much.
In terms of finding an apartment, I actually wouldn't mind keeping kosher for six months. I think it would be a good way to experience a different culture, but I'm not sure if potential roommates would be down with it.
I just stumbled across this when looking for what ss/sk meant when a local person was advertising challah from their kitchen. This was a delightful read! Thanks for the information and a smile at what for you was a long ago experience.
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